First Group Ride of the Year

I am not big on riding outside when the temperatures drop past a certain point. Fortunately, the last few days, the temps have been quite nice.

Yesterday, I ventured up to the business park. Tuesday evenings in the early spring tend to bring out a large group of riders. I was about 5 miles into my ride when I spotted a large group starting form. I immediately rode up and jump on to the back.

Riding in groups on the back is like holding the end of the rope. As long as there is a study tug everything is fine and I get pulled along. But when someone starts to whip the rope, I am the last one to feel it and it is a dig deep time to hold on.

The Group kept growing in size as we picked up people of with every lap. Sometimes, I would be riding on the inside next to curb trying to hold a true line. Screw up and tons of people go down. The next lap, I would be on the outside. Other laps, I would try to move toward the front. I try to never get on the point. These guys ride a lot and could swat me away at anytime.

Besides, I would rather be known as safe rider "Welcomed" into any group ride.

The group got large enough that we were pushing out into the traffic lane going down the hill. This is the section where I have the hardest time holding. I looked down at the cadence on my Garmin and it read 110 RPM. And, I was still being gapped. I guess I could have switched over to the big ring, but I decided to save it for another day. The high cadence is good for running and extra cardio doesn't hurt either.

For the ride, I finished 20 miles and rode at about 19 mph.

I ride two more days this week: Thursday and Friday. If you are in the business park area, let me know.

 

 

Thoughts from the Cool Down Runner